Christmas tree researcher Jan Ole Skage said Norwegian conifers were in high demand in 2009.

“We sold around 95,000 Christmas trees abroad at a value of 8.2 million kroner ($1.1 million),” Skage, who works for the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, told newspaper Nationen.

By last year, however, sales had plummeted to just 1,000 trees, worth 200,000 kroner.

“The financial crisis and lower Christmas tree prices across Europe are the main reasons why most  Christmas tree producers have stopped selling trees abroad in recent years,” said Skage.

Domestic Christmas-tree sales have increased in the same period, he said.

The researcher expects Norwegians to buy 1.9 million Christmas trees this year.

Twenty percent of the trees will be imported, with most coming from Denmark, said Skage.